Book VI of The Protector
by Anmras
Summary: Legolas is captured by the gangs, but they don't kill him or ask him to join them. Instead, they decide upon something that will make Legolas hurt more then he ever imagined possible.
1. Chapter 16

@ Deana - Things will start looking up soon! Don't worry!  
  
@ dark_angel2288 - I hope that's a speechless OH and not a horrified OH at my bad writing!  
  
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Chapter 16  
  
Legolas was silent all night. He didn't sleep. He didn't eat. He couldn't stop staring at his hands. He thought they had been strong hands. Hands that could've done anything he wanted. Disconnect the neck of an enemy from its head, protect him from anything that came his way.  
  
Why couldn't they have protected that child? Why couldn't he have saved him.  
  
He wept again as the wagon skidded to a stop. A gang member came around the back and opened some of the bars. He climbed in and pushed the three of them out onto the ground. Legolas had no idea where he was. Tall dark trees surrounded them save for a little dirt path that lead into a creek and disappeared. The night sky could be seen through the bare brambles of branches above them. Dead leaves and grasses decorated the floor with colors of brown mingled with yellow and fiery red. Legolas found himself shivering in the cold of night with nothing but a tunic and leggings on. One of the men beside him started coughing violently and fell to his knees. Someone kicked him and flocked Legolas and the other man off the path.  
  
Soon, they were in a row on their knees with their hands behind their backs. Legolas was at the end of the line. One of the gang members approached the first on the right.  
  
'Where are they?' he said with a solid and threatening tone. The man looked in his eyes, but kept silent. A knife appeared against his neck. 'Where?' asked the gang member. There were still no words from the man's mouth.  
  
The masked man then kicked him hard in the stomach. His knees shot out from under him and he landed on his stomach. The damp dirt stuck to his face when the gang member lifted his head by his blonde hair.  
  
'Where!' he yelled in the man's face. The man tried to look away and kept his eyes shut tight. 'Where!' the blade was pointed directly at the man's chest.  
  
'I'm not telling you!' he cried. The man then plunged the dagger deep into his chest. His eyes popped open and he gasped for breath. The steel was brought out again, covered in blood. The man fell onto the ground, slowly drowning in his own pool of blood.  
  
Legolas looked away as the same was done to the second man. The questions, the threats, the refusal, then the kill. It would happen to him now, hopefully quicker then the others.  
  
'Namarie, Elenest...' he whispered to himself. 'Namarie Ada...' The high boots of the gang member appeared in front of him. The tip of the right toe was stained with blood. Legolas looked up at his face. His eyes were stone, questioning him. As though he was different from the others. Finally, the blade was brought to his neck. Legolas shut his eyes tightly as his heart pounded in his throat. The blade slowly scraped up along his jaw until it reached his ear. The hair covering it was lifted and revealed the pointed tip. The man started laughing.  
  
'Gather, lads!' he cried. The gang members all collected around Legolas. 'For here we have a wonderful gift! This elf will bring us more money then the Wold and the shores of Entwash combined!'  
  
'Why? What worth is he compared to the rest of this filth!' questioned one man, motioning to the other two dead bodies.  
  
'To collect a reward!' cried the man who killed the other two. 'For here before us, bound and helpless, is the almighty Prince of Mirkwood!' 


	2. Chapter 17

@ FencingBabe7 - As soon as I was done the book b4 I started writing this one and finished it in the same day! I won't be surprised if I spelt everything wrong!  
  
@ Deana - Here's the next chapter! I'd want to get the reward too... there's a pretty hefty dowry on his head! (of course, I'd fake his return then run off with Legolas and the money!)  
  
@ pirate-queen-of-sixteen - I tend to go a little wild with cliffies sometimes!  
  
@ Estelisminegoaway - MORE you say? the last chapter of this book will be up tomorrow!  
  
Chapter 17  
  
Legolas wasn't surprised. Whether these men decided to kill him or the guards of Mirkwood did, he would never see Elenest again. He only felt grief in his body and he only wanted to die. The weight of leaving home and his family and seeing those two children be murdered pressed him further to the ground. His thoughts were blank and he felt nothing but the anguish that impaled him.  
  
One of the men tied a longer rope around his wrists and pulled Legolas to his feet. He was lead near barely living tree with a single thick branch hanging over the ground below. The rope was thrown over it and he was pulled higher up so that his toes only brushed the ground. He could see his foggy breath in front of him. One of the men pulled out a knife. Legolas only rose about two inches higher then him now, completely helpless. Ropes began to bind his feet and they were also tied to the trees around him. The man with the knife began to pace around him.  
  
'One move, my friend,' he said, brandishing the steel. 'And you'll find out how cold this metal really is.' Legolas glared at him but remained silent. He felt no point to escaping anyway, even if he could.  
  
He spent a good deal of the freezing night there. Alone in the dark his thoughts tormented him. The ropes began to cut into his hands that he thought were so powerful. Most of the gang members had disappeared, but Legolas could smell their campfire not too far off. The man with the blade guarded him all night long. Finally, when the sounds of drinking and cheer died down, the man spoke to him.  
  
'So you're a prince who killed one of his subjects?' he asked. Legolas hadn't the smallest bit of sleep because of the cold and his position just hanging there. 'What kind of leader would do that?' he laughed. Legolas glared, anger returning inside him and warming his veins slightly.  
  
'You're no better!' he scolded. 'You kill for the mere pleasure of seeing someone suffer!' The hand of the man quickly found its way around Legolas throat.  
  
'That wasn't wise, Prince Legolas!' he hissed as he lifted his blade to Legolas's face. 'I'll bleed you for that comment!' Just as the knife touched Legolas's neck, another gang member appeared from the woods.  
  
'That's enough.' he said. 'Your turn is over.' the man hesitated before finally letting go of Legolas. Legolas took in a deep breath. He had come just inches away from death then. His pain could have stopped, his grief cease and for everything to just be a faint memory shrouded in white fog.  
  
The other man sat down and began to whittle away at a stick. Legolas watched him for awhile as he hollowed out the wood and began to carve letters on it.  
  
Then Legolas realized that he had hidden his blowgun underneath his tunic. His eyes widened and he looked down at the ropes that tied his feet.  
  
The gang members were skilled and powerful, but they hardly seemed to know how to keep a person captive. If Legolas could somehow grab his blowgun and knock out the man, he could talk off his boots, free his legs, then hoist himself up to undo the ropes.  
  
He thought for a moment, did he really want to? Did he really want to dodge death one more time? What good would come out of his existence as a crippled being with nothing?  
  
Then he realized, not crippled, but scarred. Seeing the death of those children gave him an anger that he never knew he possessed. With the blade and bow his father had given him, he could help those people that were being killed off so pointlessly. All he had to do was escape here and retrieve his belongings, which were still in one of the wagons parked nearby. He could sneak off and be long gone before morning.  
  
More importantly... he could help.  
  
Legolas pretended to be falling asleep for the longest time. His head was bowed down, his mouth on the collar of his tunic. He could smell the wood of the blowgun. Careful to be unseen by the guard, he stretched for it with his tongue until he got a hold. He pulled it out with his teeth and faced the man, who didn't even look up. Aiming carefully, Legolas fired.  
  
One dart...  
  
One chance... 


	3. Chapter 18

The song I used in this chapter is called 'Here's to the Night' by Eve 6. It took me FOREVER to decide on a song, so I hope you enjoy it!  
  
@ hansay1300 - haha! You make me laugh!  
  
@ pirate-queen-of-sixteen - In the next book, Legolas reflects on all the people he befriended and saw die pointlessly, and he makes a BIG decision based on it! In fact... it has a LOT to do with the title of this story! Hope to see u there!  
  
@ Deana - Quick! Read on to find out if the dart hit him or not!  
  
Chapter 18  
  
The dart seemed to fly through the air in slow motion, floating towards the man silently. Legolas stared as it made contact with the little exposed neck. The man gasped and looked at him. He pulled it out of his flesh and stared at it, then passed out from the draught that the needle had been dipped in.  
  
~So denied, so I lied.~  
  
~Are you the now or never kind?~  
  
Legolas then slipped off his boots and lifted his bare feet up to wrap around the branch above him. He pulled himself up and slipped the ropes off his bleeding wrists. The pain was extreme, but not enough to make him grunt or wince or anything. He then jumped down silently and slipped his boots back on. The sleeping horses made no sound and the men were still quiet. Legolas retrieved his dart and replaced it in the blowgun after quickly wiping off the blood. The draught could be used three or four times before it would lose its affect.  
  
~In a day and a day love,~  
  
~I'm gonna be gone for good again.~  
  
Legolas snuck behind the wagon of which his items were thrown in carelessly. His coins were gone, but he still had many left in the chest underneath the tree in the northern part of the Wold. He gathered all his items as quietly as possible and hopped back out of the wagon. He heard something stir far off where the men must've been camping, then crept off eastward where a faint dirt path led.  
  
Legolas made no sound save for that of his bags gently brushing together. He was looking in as many directions as he could manage as he walked, careful to see any intruders coming in from behind or the sides. When he heard a twig snap somewhere nearby, he snapped his head in that direction but continued to walk. He was walking backwards when he decided it was nothing and turned around again.  
  
~Are you willing to be had?~  
  
~Are you cool when just denied?~  
  
Lying right in front of him was the campsite of four of the gang members. They were all sleeping silently and not moving at all. Legolas froze and clenched his teeth. They must have camped all around him so he wouldn't escape.  
  
The smell of ale was strong here and there were several jugs lying around with nothing but a little liquid left in them. Legolas wrinkled his nose and sniffed at the stench.  
  
Big mistake.  
  
One of the gang members rolled over with a groan. His hand was brought down on one of the jugs, which rolled out fro under his hand against the stone of the fire. The stone fell in the ashes which rose up in a flurry. Legolas held his breath as several of the ones that were still lit landed on the face of one of the sleeping men. The man wiped his face and muttered. His eyes fluttered open.  
  
For a frozen moment, their eyes locked.  
  
~Here's a toast to all those who hear me all too well.~  
  
'He's escaping! The elf prince is-' Legolas moved like lightening and had an arrow through the man's neck in a second. However, it was too late. The other three were standing up in the site and pulled out secret daggers from their boots and belts.  
  
~Here's to the night we felt alive,~  
  
~Here's to the tears we knew you'd cry.~  
  
~Here's to good-bye,~  
  
~Tomorrow's going to come too soon.~  
  
Legolas had his dagger out in another blink and was defending himself from the deadly blows of the men around him. Whenever he thought he had cleared a path for him to run, another seemed to appear in front of him. One of them grabbed his tunic by the back and pulled him close.  
  
'What were you thinking boy?' he hissed. Legolas lifted his knife and took a stab at the man behind him over his shoulder. The man screamed and let go. Legolas blocked another blow while screaming:  
  
'That was for Elenest!'  
  
~Put your name on the line,~  
  
~Along with place and time.~  
  
Finally, there was an opening. Legolas darted and began running at full speed through the woods. Several of the men were right on his tail, brandishing blades and spears.  
  
~Want to stay, not to go.~  
  
~I want to ditch the logical.~  
  
Legolas leapt behind a bolder, letting the men pass him absent- mindedly.  
  
~Here's a toast to all those who all those who hear me all too well.~  
  
Legolas rested for a moment, his thought drifting back to Elenest. He found an inspiration in his love for her that made him want to fight better.  
  
~Here's to the night we felt alive.~  
  
She made him want to be proud.  
  
~Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry.~  
  
She made him want to be noble  
  
~Here's to good-bye.~  
  
~Tomorrow's going to come to soon.~  
  
Suddenly, a gang member grabbed Legolas by the front of his tunic and pulled him close to his face.  
  
'Foolish prince!' he hissed. A knife appeared in front of Legolas's eyes. Legolas was frozen as it moved slowly to his right shoulder. It suddenly was cutting into his skin, arriving with a blinding white-hot pain. Legolas screamed then punched the man in the jaw. He heard yells and calls in the woods. His position was given away. Legolas stood and began to ran blindly, slower then before.  
  
~All my time is full of emotion,~  
  
~Can't I stay an hour or two?~  
  
~Oh once more don't let me let you go.~  
  
Legolas skidded to a stop. His neck was prickling and his elven sense trembling. He realized that if he had taken another step through the foliage he would have fallen down a ten foot cliff into a freezing running river.  
  
~Don't let me let you go.~  
  
Legolas was caught. With gang members behind him and a barrier in front, he had no choice but to give himself in. Clutching his shoulder, he thought about how Elenest must be hoping for him to return someday when his charges were cleared. That was the only way they could be together.  
  
~Here's a toast to all those who hear me all to well.~  
  
Legolas suddenly remembered Elenest's last words to him. 'Promise me you'll come back!' Her eyes were so deep in love at that moment. Legolas couldn't refuge her words.  
  
~Here's to the night we felt alive.~  
  
~Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry.~  
  
~Here's to good bye.~  
  
~Tomorrow's going to come to soon.~  
  
~Too soon.~  
  
There was only one thing he could do.  
  
~Here's to the night we felt alive.~  
  
One way he could see Elenest and his family again.  
  
~Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry.~  
  
One way to hear her melodic voice and smell her beautiful hair.  
  
~Here's to good bye.~  
  
~Tomorrow's going to come to soon...~  
  
Taking a deep breath, Legolas jumped into the running river.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
Don't forget guys, I really want to hear what songs you want to see in this story! I am NOT very good at picking them, as you can see... 


End file.
